Climate of Venezuela

The Climate of Venezuela is characterized for being tropical and megathermal as a result of its geographical location near the Equator, but because of the topography and the dominant wind direction, several climatic types occur which can be the same as found in temperate latitudes, and even polar regions. Latitude exerts little influence on the Venezuelan climate. While the coastal cities of Maracaibo, Barcelona, Porlamar and Maiquetia can get extremely hot, cities in valleys such as Mérida, Caracas, Los Teques and San Cristobal have cooler climates, and the highest towns of Mucuchies and Apartaderos have cold (tundra) climates.

The hottest part of Venezuela is the northwest (Paraguana Peninsula and Guajira Peninsula), where temperatures of more than 38 °C (100 °F) are frequently recorded. The coldest part in the country are located in the highest areas of the Cordillera de Mérida, where temperatures lower than −2 °C (28 °F) are recorded. The Venezuelan Coastal Range and Guiana Highlands have average temperatures from 25 °C (77 °F) to 11 °C (52 °F), while the Llanos average temperature is over 23 °C (73 °F).

The highest temperature recorded was 42 °C (108 °F) in Machiques,^[1] and the lowest temperature recorded was −11 °C (12 °F), it has been reported from an uninhabited high altitude at Páramo de Piedras Blancas (Mérida state),^[2] even though no official reports exist, lower temperatures in the mountains of the Sierra Nevada de Mérida are known.